According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2001 and 2008, more than thirty-four thousand motorcyclists were killed and an estimated 1,222,000 persons were treated in a U.S. emergency department for a non-fatal motor-cycle-related injury. Helmets save lives. As of May 2012, nineteen states and the District of Columbia had universal helmet laws, twenty-eight states have a partial helmet law and three states had no helmet law. In Pennsylvania in 2010, of the 223 deaths in motorcycle accidents, two hundred two were drivers and twenty-one were passengers. In 2012 in Pennsylvania, of the two hundred ten people killed in motorcycle accidents, two hundred were operating the motorcycle and ten were passengers. Nearly half were not wearing helmets. About 36% of injured motorcyclists were not wearing helmets. From these statistics, one may conclude that passengers, not wearing helmets, are at risk when they ride a motorcycle and passengers are at risk, just as are drivers. The helmet appears to be a key to safety. On the other hand, there appears to be no data on the efficacy of any other safety or stability means for motorcycle passengers as to whether such means or devices save lives or provide for greater stability for passengers.
A safety belt for motorcycles is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,902 of McNeill issued Oct. 15, 1974. The belt is securely fastened about the driver by a pair of buckles and a gripping means. The belt is further provided with windbreakers to cause wind flow to be less disturbing to a passenger. The belt has hand grips on each side for a passenger to hold on to. A cushion is provided in the rear of the bell to absorb sudden shocks.
Yet another motorcycle safety belt is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,028,742. The belt in fact comprises two belts placed across the chest and waist such that these two belts are parallel to one another and are suspended by suspenders. A back plate is added for back support. A passenger holds on to “resiliently mounted spaced apart” handles comprising first and second handles of the lower belt.
A further motorcycle safety belt is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,358 to Jimenez issued Nov. 8, 1983. This safety belt is much like a known belt with belt holes and a buckle so that the belt may be buckled around a driver of variable waist sizes via the many belt holes. Handles are positioned on each side of the driver for a passenger/rider to hold on to. A widened portion in the rear makes the belt more comfortable.
Yet another motorcycle safety belt is disclosed by Donnelly in U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,719 issued Jan. 21, 1992. An advantage of this belt is a pair of slidable handles that may be moved about the belt. The handles are not in a fixed position. A belt web has first and second ends where the first end is a hook and loop style fastener to cooperate with a second hook and loop style fastener. The hook and loop fasteners cooperate further so that the overlap between the fasteners provides for varying waist sizes.
A motorcycle rider safety harness is shown in published U. S. Patent Application 2011/0154561 of Singhal published Jun. 30, 2011. The harness is inflatable and a plurality of air-bags can be inflated. A sensor can actuate the air bags automatically.
A biker's lap belt is shown in U. S. Published Patent Application 2011/0253130 published Oct. 20, 2011. As explained, a biker may utilize this belt around the biker's thighs to hold them together at a comfortable position. Biker's legs may tend to require back muscle exertion to maintain their tightness to hug the bike. A fifty-four year old biker found that the belt, when worn, reduced muscle fatigue. Such a belt is no assistance to a passenger.
Besides handles, there would appear to be a need in the open vehicle or ride-able animal arts to provide for stability and safety of a passenger. For example, a passenger may be a young child and not possess the strength to hold on to a handle or have the arm length to reach round the driver. A passenger may be a handicapped individual with no arm strength or be missing one or both of their arms. Handles on a rider belt would be of no assistance to a handicapped passenger with no arms or hands. Thus, there would appear to be a need in the art for improvements to permit a passenger to ride safely and with some enhanced stability behind a driver of an open vehicle or a ride-able animal such as a horse. Handles are insufficient, and there seems to be no data to support a proposition that handles on a belt will provide greater safety to a passenger.
Given the foregoing, what is needed is an improved belt that may provide for greater safety and stability for a passenger.